Manly continue Mariners’ slump with a tight victory
Manly United have defeated the Central Coast Mariners 1-0 in a tight contest at Pluim Park on Sunday afternoon.
The first half was largely dominated by the away side, with Manly controlling possession and creating the majority of the chances.
Manly had two corners inside the opening four minutes of the contest, but none were able to trouble Peraic-Cullen’s goal.
The Mariners had their first meaningful attack in the 17th minute which began and ended with Aydan Hammond, with his first-time shot straight at Levi Kaye.
The game was predominantly played out wide, with Hammond looking dangerous for the home side, and Seiya Kambayashi and former Mariner Harry McCarthy creating for Manly.
The Mariners almost entered the sheds at half time in the lead from a set-piece after Andre Parkes lurked around the back, but his effort thumped against the left upright.
The second half began with both sides trading possession but with limited chances. Manly began to settle into the game and as such started to challenge the Mariners’ goal. Kambayashi found some space inside the box and forced a brilliant legs save from Peraic-Cullen in the 67th minute.
The Mariners goalkeeper didn’t hold himself to the same high standard only a couple of minutes later as Manly found the opening goal of the contest. The young shot-stopper raced off his line from a corner to try and punch the ball clear but missed it entirely, gifting a free header and an open net to the oncoming Alen Aganovic.
The Mariners had a golden chance to get back into the contest in the 74th minute when referee Danny Horstead awarded the home side a penalty. The referee and his assistant deemed that James Oates handled the ball inside the box whilst trying to chest it back to his goalkeeper.
Aydan Hammond stepped up for the Mariners, like he did a week ago for the A-League side in the Australia Cup to take the penalty, but he was denied by a brilliant Levi Kaye save – the ‘keeper diving low to his left to deny Hammond the equaliser.
The Mariners continued to press in search of an equaliser, and Peraic-Cullen continued to deny Manly goals with a terrific save from a Matt Sim effort in the 77th minute.
The game became stretched and slightly sloppy towards the end of the half as Manly held onto the lead they had and the Mariners chased a goal of their own.
Brandtman found some space on the edge of the box in added time, but his effort was skied over the bar as Manly held on for the win.
Manly United manager Patrick Zwaanswijk stated his team dominated the game and deserved the win.
“It was tight in terms of the scoreline, but I think we dominated the play,” he said.
“We should have finished some of our chances, and because we didn’t they stayed in the game. I think we controlled the long balls and controlled their counterattacks, but good on them for giving us a tough game.
“It’s great to see the Mariners producing young talent once again.”
Meanwhile Mariners manager Abbas Saad admitted that his side weren’t at their best today.
“Manly is a very experienced and solid team,” he said.
“We were definitely second best today; I’m not going to lie about that. But saying that, they didn’t create too much. Their goal was a sloppy one from a corner.
“We were a little bit sluggish, and we’ve been very disrupted the last month or so. It’s been a nightmare to be honest with you. But this is our development squad, it’s our role to try things and produce players to move on.
“Definitely our attitude is right, but the quality just wasn’t there today.”
Match Stats
Central Coast Mariners Academy 0
Manly United 1 (Aganovic 69’)
Sunday 23rd July, 2023
Pluim Park, Lisarow
Referee: Danny Horstead
Assistant Referees: Matthew Harris, Simon Ashari
Fourth Official: Charbel Geha
Central Coast Mariners: 20. Dylan Peraic-Cullen (GK), 3. Cameron Windust (c), 7. Aydan Hammond (19. Aidan Milicevic 77’), 10. Nicholas Duarte (18. George Daniel 62’), 11. Bailey Brandtman, 15. Jordan Segreto (14. Luke Oresti 54’), 16. Will Arnold, 21. Maksim Kasalovic, 22. Andre Parkes (25. Jacob Tresoglavic 77’), 26. Max Middleby (24. Gianni Di Pizio 77’), 31. Amponsah Antwi
Substitutes Not Used: 30. Lewis Alvarez
Yellow Cards: Antwi 61’
Red Cards: Nil
Manly United: 20. Levi Kaye (GK), 3. Jesse Piriz, 7. Seiya Kambayashi, 8. James Oates (c), 10. Bruno Mendes (9. Benjamin Koop 66’), 14. Connor Rose (11. Matt Sim 62’), 19. Alen Aganovic, 22. Bilal Belkadi (6. Finn Ashton 77’), 23. Harry McCarthy (12. Kristian Santich 77’), 29. Hunter Elliott, 32. Saxon Hillyer (2. Kieran Paull 62’)
Substitutes Not Used: 93. Montgomery Partington
Yellow Cards: Mendes 45’, Elliot 56’, Belkadi 70’
Red Cards: Nil
Player Ratings
3 – Seiya Kambayashi (MAN)
2 – James Oates (MAN)
1 – Alen Aganovic (MAN)
-By Cameron Smith
